The tale of my transformation from lethargy and laziness to true health and fitness!

Tag Archives: grassfed

As I mentioned in previous posts, I could not have cared less about the healthiness of the food that I ate. Quantity certainly trumped quality.

When I was going through a self-discovery phase early last year and examining the foods that I ate, I realized that I didn’t really know most of what I was consuming. Sure, I got chicken from the store, but how was the chicken raised and fed? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I certainly liked the taste of something as unnutritional as Pop Tarts, but they tasted good to me so I ate them. I don’t want to bore you with what I ate compared to what I eat now…

I started to examine the ingredients found in the food products that I ate. In fact, I was that guy standing in the grocery store looking at the back of a food product and googling it on my Android (sorry, Apple fans). I still do that on occasion. I also watched a lot of documentaries about food on NetFlix – obviously, I digested this information with a grain of salt (pun intended), but the fact of the matter was, I was eating a lot of things that were either genetically modified, produced in an inhumane or unhealthy way, or was just generally unhealthy.

Of course it was eye-opening to truly understand how bad things like fructose (or high fructose corn syrup), ‘natural’ and artificial flavorings, nitrates, grain-fed cows producing milk and beef, MSG and other seemingly innocuous ingredients are for you. I became determined to do my best to start understanding ingredient levels, learn what is truly good for human consumption, and slowly migrate away from the bad foods. It is clear to me (remember this is my opinion) that most major food producing companies are only interested in profit to the point of adding ingredients to food products that serve to addict and create regular, repeat purchases even at the detriment to the health of the consumer.

It is kind of crazy to think about because I doubt that our predecessors had to worry about how their food was produced, packaged, genetically modified, etc. Regardless, it’s a fact of life that we do, and for all the bad companies mass producing relatively unhealthy food products for the masses, there are just as many (sometimes the same companies) producing ‘healthy’ alternative food products that turn out to not be so healthy when you truly dig into the ingredients. There is so much information and angles to consider with this topic that 1 blog post certainly can’t even begin to scratch the surface.

All that to say this – know what you eat. I heard a good rule of thumb – don’t eat foods with ingredients that you cannot pronounce. No, I haven’t built a bunker and started a life of isolation away from society, but I am fortunate to live in a state (the good old northwest suburbs of Philly) where there are still (for now) many farms that are committed to values such as non-GMO, organic, grassfed, free range, etc. I am able to buy dairy products such as cheese, raw milk (that’s another deep dive discussion), and eggs that come from farms within 45 minutes from my house. I have started to make it a point to buy free-range, grassfed beef or free-range chicken.

I haven’t made any radical changes in my life – and my checkbook certainly hasn’t grown by leaps and bounds. Generally speaking, here’s a list of what I try to adhere to:

I know what I eat

I avoid high consumption of fructose and attempt to avoid high fructose corn syrup entirely

I buy local as often as I can, especially dairy and meats (support local products and know where they come from) – I don’t want the hormones, nitrates, or anything like that

I am ok with eating smaller portions since I know that the food product is better for me

Obviously, horribly unhealthy tings like soda are no go (diet soda is even worse – it amazes me how many people drink it)

I have made slow, incremental changes to the ingredients I add to my coffee (goodbye flavored creamer)

Limit my intake of breads, grains, and corn

Eat Greek yogurt every day (I do not swear off dairy completely like some people do)

For the most part, avoid fruit juices (the only juice I let my kids drink is unfiltered, pasteurized organic apple juice)

Do a meal list every week and stick to it – it will help you better plan your grocery shopping and eating more healthy

Don’t be afraid to be different from a lot of your friends

There are other things that I can’t think of at the moment, but the important thing is, always continue to learn (I might change my mind about a food product or ingredient that I previously thought was healthy or unhealthy) – (1. learn from others, 2. try new foods and recipes, 3. research food types and various ingredients, 4. understand how the different food products are produced and where they come from, etc.)

Well, that’s enough for now – even for a guy, I can talk a blue streak. If there’s anything that I’ve learned in the last year or so, you can’t really take this topic too seriously. Here’s to a healthy 2013 eating food the way it was meant to be produced and consumed!